Martha Norbeck,
owner and president of C-WISE, was elected to the Fairfield City Council on December 4th. Martha is the lead designer of the Cypress Villages subdivision, and is responsible for the high environmental
standards incorporated in that project.
Ms. Norbeck is an Iowa City native, whose parents instilled a strong passion for science and
the value of biological systems. Her father is Professor Emeritus of Physics at the University of Iowa, and her mother holds a Masters in Biology and worked as a researcher at the U of I biology department. Martha has been working in Fairfield for over four years, consulting with Maharishi University of Managment, local builders and planners on Sustainability issues.
Ms. Norbeck’s architecture career was launched as a result of her Fulbright research of ecovillages in Sweden. She earned a Masters of Architecture degree from the University of Oklahoma in 2001,
and thereafter worked in Iowa City for Neumann Monson Architects as an intern and Sustainability specialist. She has worked as lead designer on the Cypress Villages project since January of 2007.
Martha Norbeck, owner and president of C-WISE, was invited to speak at the Members of the American Institute of Architects last Thursday in Des Moines. The topic of her presentation was “Shades of Green: Tales from the Trenches”.